Hundreds of Treasury jobs at risk in civil servant cost-cutting shakeup February 2, 2026 Rachel Reeves wants to slash about 300 of her department’s roughly 2,100 staff by 2030, as HM Treasury plans to offer officials up to £100,000 to take voluntary leave.The proposed cuts to the Treasury are part of a wider drive to reduce Whitehall’s administrative costs by 16 per cent, according to the Financial Times. The [...]
Crackdown on social media migrant adverts to begin, Home Office says February 1, 2026 Social media users who tout illegal routes into the UK face up to five years in prison, starting on Monday. The Home Office will activate part of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, passed last year, as part of its crackdown on adverts telling migrants how they can circumvent immigration checks. Border security minister [...]
Mandelson told Epstein he was ‘trying hard’ to change bank bonus rules February 1, 2026 Peter Mandelson told Jeffrey Epstein he was “trying hard” to change government policy on bankers’ bonuses at his request, months after Epstein had paid thousands of pounds to the then UK business secretary’s husband and the 2008 financial crash. Emails released by the Department of Justice on Friday showed new details of the closeness of [...]
Starmer looks to woo Japanese investors amid Asia trip backlash January 31, 2026 Keir Starmer said he would hold discussions with investors and business owners in Japan after landing in Tokyo, with the Prime Minister hoping to defy critics of his recent trip to China with new deals to boost the UK economy. Speaking on a plane from Shanghai to Tokyo, Starmer said discussions with Prime Minister Sanae [...]
Betfred brothers, Alex Gerko, Mike Ashley: Top UK taxpayers revealed January 31, 2026 Betting entrepreneurs Peter Done and Denise Coates, traders Alex Gerko and Chris Rokos, and high street kingpins Tim Martin and Mike Ashley are among the top taxpayers in the UK, new analysis has revealed. Betfred founders Fred and Peter Done paid the most cash into HMRC over the past year, according to The Sunday Times’ [...]
‘Absolutely bonkers’: Labour minister hits back at Trump’s criticism of China trade January 30, 2026 A Labour minister has hit back at comments from President Donald Trump that trading with China was “very dangerous” for the UK. Sir Chris Bryant, who has served as trade minister since September 2025, said it would be “absolutely bonkers” for the UK not to do business with China. “You have to challenge China on [...]
Starmer: Businesses ‘cry out’ for more trade with China January 29, 2026 Keir Starmer has said businesses are “crying out for ways” to export to Chinese markets as he struck a new deal for British travellers. After meeting President Xi Jinping in China, Starmer defended his government’s ambitions to boost relations with the world’s second largest economy despite questions over security threats posed by state-backed spies and [...]
Labour urged to rethink donor incentives for museums amid non-dom exodus January 29, 2026 The exodus of non-doms from the UK is having a knock-on effect on philanthropy, with museums now urging the government to bring back generous donors. Museums, such as the British Museum and Tate Modern, acquire expensive, world-class paintings primarily through a mix of public funding, major grants from organisations and private philanthropy. However, with the [...]
The Capitalist: Pub landlord swaps pints for paint in fight against Labour January 29, 2026 A pub landlord gets creative, Linkedin tells us their secrets and a new sewer-side spot; catch up with the latest gossip in The Capitalist.
FTSE 100 Live: Miners lead stock rally; Pound holds onto gains January 29, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Is President Donald Trump trying to devalue the dollar? That’s the question many in the City and across global markets were asking yesterday after Trump referred to the dollar dropping 1.3 per cent against a basket of currencies as “great”. The President’s triggered another 0.2 [...]
